The Green Party believes that a tax on homebuyers is needed to stop houses from lying unused.
Green Party spokesperson for housing Tamantha Paul said that houses shouldn’t be left empty.
“If there’s a house and it’s safe to live in, then we should fill those houses. It’s crazy that houses would sit abandoned when we have people sleeping in cars and on the street.”
One tax that could be done is called an “empty home” tax.
An empty house tax like the name suggests is a tax imposed on houses that are left unoccupied for a certain length of time.
AUT senior lecturer of taxation Ranjana Gupta said that she believes an empty home tax is the answer. Read more